


A Little Bit Of Pizza(zz)

by CamillaEmily



Series: I Feel Like I've Met You Before (And I Hope I Do Again) [1]
Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, Anxiety Disorder, F/M, First Dates, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Mike and Eddie are soft, Phone Calls & Telephones, Pizza Delivery Boy Richie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-15
Updated: 2018-01-23
Packaged: 2019-02-15 07:46:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13026474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CamillaEmily/pseuds/CamillaEmily
Summary: "You're the pizza guy and you're taking forever because you're flirting with my friend, but then I appeared and said something really inappropriate because I'm really hungry and we both just stood and stared at each other because Holy Fuck you are hot let me just curl up and die I'm so sorry,"





	1. The Incident

"I'm so hungry, Mikey, please just end my life! Cease my suffering!"

Beverly then proceeded to groan dramatically, curling in on herself to hold her stomach as she draped herself across Mike's body. Mike rolled his eyes, fondly, wrapping a comforting arm around her and dropping a kiss to her forehead, "Don't be so dramatic, Bev, I'm sure Stan will come in with the food any second now."

Beverly only grumbled along with her belly, tucking her head into Mike's neck and stretching her legs to fall on Ben's lap. He patted them lightly, his gaze remained on his book as he turned to the page, head leant against Eddie's shoulder as he too flung his head back to groan louder at his starvation. He looked over at Bill, prompting him silently to do something about his incompetent boyfriend, but only saw him too engrossed in the drawing his rapidly moving pencil was creating.

Eddie huffed, standing up suddenly to make Ben's head loll for a moment before switching to drop on it's other side to Mike's shoulder, "Whatever, I'm going to go check on him."

"Come back with pizza or don't come back at all," Beverly warned, glaring at him with pale eyes from Mike's chest. Eddie waved her off as he disappeared through the door, the tinklings of flirtatious comments wavering into Eddie's ear as he turned to corner to just hear the last of Stan's remark.

"-but I have a boyfriend." He said dryly and Eddie rolled his eyes at the cliche of the typical porn situation, his stomach twisting to flare his annoyance further. 

" _Stan, what the fuck is taking so long, could you stop deep-throating the pizza guy, I'm fucking hung-_ " Eddie complained as he stormed around the corner to the front door, but then stopped, his scrunched expression meeting large dark brown eyes behind thick frames a few inches above Stan’s head. His mouth fell open, shoulders slumping from their tensed frustrated position and he leant against the wall, cheeks heating in embarrassment, "Oh uh I uh-"

"Eddie, don't be so rude." Stan berated, his voice curt but he was smirking widely, the expression lost to the delivery boy as he only stared back at Eddie, lips twitching into an amused smile, dark eyes shining.

"Yeah Eds, I'm stood right here," He commented, earning a huff of laughter from Stan as he took the pizza boxes off of him. Eddie's face darkened, his jaw slack as he started to rub at his cheeks to relieve the burning. The pizza guy grinned, eyes still boring into Eddie's, "Cute!" 

Eddie figured the best course of action was to disappear from the mortifying scene entirely and ducked behind the wall to drop his head in his hands. He heard a faint bark laughter and an awkward tone of voice which made Eddie want to curl up and die.

_Nice one Kaspbrak! Just humiliated yourself in front the hot delivery boy oh my god, how could I say that Jesus fuck-_

Once again Eddie was interrupted, but not by angled cheekbones curtained by soft dark curls and plush pink lips drawn into a polite smile, but by a hand on his shoulder that made him flinch. He looked up to see concerned blue eyes, "You okay E-Eddie?"

"No," He murmured pathetically.

"Eddie?" The sound of the door shutting and then Stan's voice cut through the humiliating haze and Eddie swung back into the opening of the door, bracing against it in an attempt to look casual and unaffected by possibly the most painful thing to ever happen to him. But the boy had gone, a very amused Stan in his place, and Bill rushed past Eddie to grab the boxes, planting a kiss on Stan's mouth in thanks; Eddie, therefore, felt more comfortable turning to smack his forehead against the door frame, groaning.

"I really fucked up Stan," He groaned as he continued to bash his head, hoping to erase the memories, "He was really hot, oh my god."

Stan patted Bill's bum as he walked away which made Bill tut and wink back at him but Stan only a gave him an innocent look as he continued to talk to Eddie without taking his eyes of Bill's ass, "I think he thought you were too."

"Huh?" Eddie looked up to a folded piece of paper between Stan's fingers, and plucked it off him, barely registering Stan ushering past him and Bill's consequent giggle and suddenly muffled protest, holding it a bit shakily. Eddie unfurled it and there, in rushed messy handwriting, was a phone number signed with a scribbled: **Richie x**

"Nice one, Kaspbrak." He whispered to himself, a beam shining through his face as he looked back at the front door.


	2. The Pep Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie can't decide whether to call **_Richie x_** ; Mike swoops in to help

"Edward James Kaspbrak, you and I both know that this door cannot stop me and will not stop me from getting into that room to throttle you with the telephone cord you SHOULD BE USING RIGHT NOW!" 

 

Eddie pouted childishly at his place sat on Bill's bed, his legs crossed beneath him and trying to ignore the shout coming from Beverly on the other side of the door, her frustrated and near-hurt sigh almost prompting him to let her in, but at the glance of the paper in his fingers he remembered the source of her ebbing and decisively slumped against the wall. As he heard the retreating padding steps of her thickly socked feet and the jiggling of her many necklaces and bracelets, he stared down at the piece of hastily ripped receipt paper on the bed in front him, the wrinkled thin white sheet stark against Bill's dark blue covers.  

_**207-555-0190  - Richie x** _

The paper was both a blessing and a curse. 

A blessing because it was gifted to him by the hottest delivery boy he'd ever seen. Dark curly hair sticking out wildly beneath his companies-issued red baseball cap; dark eyes bordered by thick black frames that highlighted his high cheekbones and the thick sprinkling of tiny pinpointed freckles across his nose and cheeks; thick pink lips drawn into a tantalizing smirk that complimented his sharp tongue; not to mention he even called him _cute._

Eddie smiled softly at the memory, his cheeks heating to the similar temperature they were when they were first uttered by his deep, silky voice over Stan's head, and fingers itching to give in to Beverly and the others provoking to just pick up the phone and call him. 

However it was also a curse, not only because of the teasing he received from Stan and Bill in-between their mouthfuls of pizza and one another and the incessant whining of Beverly to call him, those he could handle, it was what he would have to face if he did secede to ring the number. The situation they had met in was so terrifically embarrassing to Eddie that he felt like curling up every time he even _brushed_ against the memory, let alone having to call _**Richie x**_ and then apologise, feeling shallow at how he'd only felt humiliated by it was because of how hot he was. 

He placed his chin on his knees and frowned at the paper, his stomach coiling in shame at the dark ink, slightly smudged from how he had kept stroking over the name. 

From the door came two short soft knocks. Eddie looked up, the source of the light noise coming too far up the wood to be Beverly, too soft to be Bill, too confident to be Ben, too lingering to be Stan, and so that just left-

"Mike?" He called out.

"Yeah, it's me, Eds." Mike's deep, smooth and warm voice said, muffled and Eddie stood up to open the door. 

"Hey." He said timidly, and let Mike in and closed the door behind him, watching him sit back on the headboard of the bed, the paper remaining untouched even as Eddie resumed his place at the foot of the bed with his back against the wall. As Mike looked at him, hands folding in his lap and eyes looking at him patiently, he felt a little stupid overreacting to the situation so much. 

"Eddie if you don't want to call him, that's totally fine," Mike said, leaning forward to place a warm hand on Eddie's knee, his eye showing nothing but compassion and his smile comforting, "Don't work yourself up over this. He's just a delivery boy." 

"A really hot delivery boy," Eddie added, placing his much smaller hand over Mikes, and squeezed it, making Mike flip it, palm up, and his thick fingers slid between his. Eddie sniffed lightly, and Mike shuffled closer to hook a reassuring around him, pressing a small kiss to his shoulder blade and then nuzzling his nose in the back of his neck. He could feel Eddie's shuddering exhale.

"If you wanna call him, do it," Mike said confidently, voice a little muffled by Eddie's t-shirt, "If you don't, don't." 

"I made a big idiot of myself in front him, though. He's gonna think I'm inconsiderate and mean and uncaring and-" Eddie rambled, and only stopped when Mike shushed him gently, shifting so his stomach was fully pressed against Eddie's back, the heat causing an unwanted wave of fatigue over him and Eddie grumbled in his discontent over how unrelenting his love for cuddling was, even in the most distressing times. 

"Eddie." Mike said firmly, squeezing his hand, "Lamb." He let go of hand to pick up the piece of paper and hold it front of their face, flicking it against Eddie's nose a little to make him giggle. His voice lowered to a whisper, "Call him." 

Letting out a deep breath, his raised his hands to take the paper and leaned over to grab the phone on Bill's bedside table, the curly black cord reminding him of Richie's hair, as well as the base onto his lap, Mike rubbing his abdomen in encouragement. He lifted the receiver to his ear to hear the single buzzing note tone and hesitated with his finger over the '2' circle of the rotor. 

"Are you sure, Mikey?" He asks timidly and Mike chuckles, swinging his legs around and away from Eddie's body, the warmth immediately disappearing and Eddie wished he would stay to comfort him; but a bigger part of him knew if he was going to this he had to do it alone. 

"Yes." He replied simply, bouncing off the bed and heading to the door. 

"How?" Eddie demanded and Mike turns to him. There Eddie sits, eyes wide in fear, his face twisted in nerves, fingers clutched around the shiny handset, the other hand holding the piece of paper away from him like it was smouldering, and his legs crossed tightly around the phone base. A wide smile spreads across Mike's mouth. 

"Because if you didn't want to call him, would you be freaking out so much?" Mike said and slipped out the room with a wink. Eddie stared after him, his lips parted as the phrase settled in and looked back at the slip of paper, his mind firmly made. 

_**202-555-0190**_

_RING-RING_

_RING-RING_

_RING-_

_CLICK_

"Yello? The one and only Richie Tozier speaking, how may I help you?" 


	3. The Phone Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richie is surprised, Eddie is mortified.

"Yello? The one and only Richie Tozier speaking, how may I help you?"

Eddie's tongue suddenly felt swollen and way too big for his mouth. Even over the phone, his voice was smooth and deep with an edge of croakiness that had his cheeks heating and a small smile spread across his mouth; his heart was beating wildly and painfully, each thump hitting against his ribs, and the grip he had on the phone felt slippy. 

"Hello?" He'd like to say he said it confidently and politely curious, but it came out more as a squeak and with a lot more uncertainty than he intended. 

"Who is this?" Richie asked, and Eddie heard a bit of shuffling in the background as well as some distant car horns and a squeal of tires. His jaw fell open.

"Are you _driving_ right now? Do you know how dangerous that is? I can't believe you have a car phone, I mean do you want to die? Did you know 18% of car crashes are because of distracted driving I-" Eddie's terrified rant was cut off by a loud laugh on the other end, one that Eddie really wanted to hear again in person because if it sounded so nice on the phone then how amazing would it sound in real life? _Eddie needed to know._

"I'd say this was my mom, but your voice is way too cute." Richie drawled and Eddie's bottom lip bobbed for a moment, half flustered, half bewildered. 

"Do you flirt with everyone who calls you?" He retorted, with pink cheeks. 

"Only the ones who seem to care about whether I live or die." Richie easily replied back. Eddie smirked as he laid back on the bed with the phone to his ear and the base on his stomach. He felt like a dumb teenager who was talking to their boyfriend while they curled their finger around the cord and giggled at every cheesy compliment. He sort of loved it. 

"How do you know I'm not your accountant ringing to tell you that you're bankrupt and is just concerned whether I'm gonna get paid or not?" Eddie retaliated, grinning stupidly, enjoying the light-hearted banter, even if he still felt the lingering pulls of dread over whether this hot guy was going to die because he was on the phone with him. 

"Nah, I'm wayyy too poor for an accountant," Richie responded, and Eddie could hear the muted clicking of a turn signal and the shuffling of Richie's hands on the steering wheel; suddenly he remembered how large his hands since he could hold three pizza boxes rather comfortably, and his face warmed, "Unless minimum wage and some paper clips is enough to hire one?"

Eddie laughed and he heard Richie follow him with a chuckle, "No I don't think so, but I'll ask my friend Stan if you want?" 

"Sure, I'd love to kn- Wait, Stan? Okay, this might sound weird, but does your Stan have curly blonde hair and live on Witcham Street?" Richie asked with a surprised lilt in his voice. Eddie's breath hitched as he realised that this was it and he had to face who he was and what he did in front of him. He took a deep breath. 

"Yeah, he does, but that's my friend Bill's address." He said quietly, bracing himself for Richie remembering the incident and then immediately hanging up after telling him how dumb that was and that he only gave him his number for a joke and that he didn't really think he was cute he just wanted to have a funny story to tell his friends-

"Holy shit! Are you Eddie?" Richie exclaimed and Eddie recoiled, humiliation pulsing through his veins enough to give him the sudden desire to hang up and just escape this whole thing. Burying his head in Bill's pillow to scream in it for a good 30 minutes and then running out the room to go hug Mike for a couple hours as he stroked his hair and passed him slices of pizza sounded really great right now. 

"Yeah, I-I'm Eddie." He admitted in a small voice, deciding that however Richie reacts to this would be the trigger on whether he would try to schedule a meetup or something with this guy or go nuzzle his heartbroken face into the chest of his warm friend. 

"Wow, really?" Eddie heard him laugh a little bashfully, and he sat up, the phone base falling off his stomach to bounce against the bed, his furrowed gaze staring down at it as if looking at Richie through it. 

"Why the tone of surprise?" He asked, a smile twitching involuntarily at his lips. 

"I guess I just uh, really didn't expect you to call." Richie almost muttered. Eddie blinked rapidly in confusion, looking sideways at the receiver in disbelief. 

"Why wouldn't I call?" 

"Well, I mean, you're really cute and I honestly didn't think you'd be interested." 

Eddie's cheeks flushed and his mouth seemed to become unattached to his brain in the next moment as the genuine compliment from a really hot boy made him feel giddy and floaty. 

"Why _wouldn't_ I be interested? You're really hot." Eddie smacked a hand over his mouth and promptly dropped the receiver, his face rapidly changing from it's flustered dusting of pink to a deep mortified crimson. He couldn't believe he just said that; that's not like him at all. He heard a distant tinny laughter from the side of him and with shaky fingers, picked up the phone again, "I-I said that out loud didn't I?" 

Richie was still laughing, hard, the sound bringing an involuntary smile to Eddie's lips, "Yeah, you did. I can only imagine your adorable red cheeks!" 

Pressing his free hand to his cheek as to try to cool it he murmured a small, "Fuck off." 

"I wish I could be there in person to pinch them, I bet you look so cute!" He continued to coo, and Eddie grumbled, the compliment beginning to irk him a little, especially at the patronising lilt of his voice. 

"I wish you were here in person so I could punch your stupid face." He grumbled, although his smile still stayed plastered on his face as he brought his knees to his chest to rest his chin on top them. 

"From what I remember about you Eds, you'd have to jump to reach it." Richie teased back, and Eddie could practically hear the shit-eating grin on his face. 

"Then I'll have to settle for your tiny dick. AND DON'T CALL ME EDS." Eddie shrieked, and for a moment his heart dropped, worried that this stranger didn't know what he was like and so might've thought he was being serious, but then Richie barked in laughter, and instead the worry was replaced by irritation, particularly when he gave out a low whistle. 

"Fuck Eds, you're feisty ain'tcha?" He drawled in a pretty good New York accent that did nothing to tame Eddie's temper. 

"About as feisty as your mom was last night," Eddie grumbled, secretly delighting in the joyous laughter he was awarded. 

"Yowza! Eds gets off on a good one!" Richie's chuckle faded, his teasing tone sweetening, "You're really cool, Eddie." 

Eddie was beaming, hiding his grin in his knees, his heart feeling full and his mind feeling light, "Wish I could say the same, dickhead." 

"Ouch, that one hurt Eds," Richie dramatically winced and Eddie giggled, "Hope you're gonna kiss it better?" 

"Maybe the next time I see your ugly mug, I will." Eddie wasn't quite sure where his flare of confidence was coming from. Maybe from the fact that the person he was talking to actually liked him, as well as thought he was cute; maybe it was because _he_ really liked this boy and being a bit straightforward may be more likely way to see him again, no matter how much more succinctly he was speaking opposed to how his body trembled a little or how hard his heart was beating from nerves. 

"Interesting. Because last I heard you, and I quote, said my mug was 'really hot'?" Richie retorted and Eddie bit his lip to stop his cheeky smile, heart thumping faster as he formed his next words, mostly in disbelief of himself. 

"Interesting. Because last I heard, I, and I paraphrase, said that 'I was gonna kiss you the next time I saw you'?" Eddie buried his nose in his knees, laughing into his thighs as he heard Richie choke on the other side.

His mischievous giggling was abruptly cut off by Richie cursing under his breath, the clatter of him dropping his phone and the uproarious screech of tires. Eddie leapt forward on the bed, bouncing to sit on the edge as if lurching forward to grab him, but he could only clench the phone with one hand, the other instinctively knotting in his hair, "Richie? RICHIE ARE YOU ALRIGHT? RICHIE?!" 

Sound came back in the form of the shuffling of the phone being picked back up as well as Richie clearing his throat, his voice coming out a little raspy and breathy, "Yeah, Eds?" 

_Yeah, Eds?!_ "What the fuck happened, are you alright, what are you doing?" He babbled a bit jumbled, leaning forward on the edge of the bed, legs dangling as he tried to remember where he had kicked off his shoes in case he needed to go to the hospital.  _Wait, could I even see him? I don't even know his last name! Oh my god, what if he's bleeding out what do I tell 911? I don't know where he is, what his car looks like or anything! Oh fuck, I-_

"I'm coming to reclaim my kiss!" Eddie all but ignored his statement, only hearing the steadiness of his voice and his face fell into his hands in relief. He laid back on the bed, the position on his back opening his lungs to let in deep breaths as to calm his thumping heartbeat. 

"Oh my fucking god, Richie, you can't just do that, I thought you crashed or something fucking hell." He panted, hand spreading over his heart to feel the pulse beginning to slow as Richie chuckled into his ear. 

"Car crash or not Eds I would drag myself from the wreckage if it meant a kiss from your sweet lips!" He cried, and his proclamation began to settle in, making Eddie sit bolt upright.  _Wait what?_

"Hold on, you're coming _here? Now?!_ " He squeaked, looking down at the blue and white striped long-sleeve shirt he was wearing with his blue jeans. He remembered he left his white converse here as well, which would compliment the outfit well, and he could borrow Bill's denim jacket if he pouted enough. The nervous thoughts swam through Eddie's mind as he tapped thoughtfully on his bottom lip, smudging his tongue across it as he wondered whether he should put on some chapstick on or something. _Just in case._ His cheeks pinkened at that thought. 

"Yeppidy doo dah! My shift just ended, so I'm gonna come get ya, and you're gonna gift me with a punch in the balls _and_ a kiss because you promised both!" Richie said, jokingly, but decisively enough that it made Eddie jump up from his spot, momentarily forgetting the phone was still attached to its cord and so almost knocked the base off the bed. He cursed softly and Richie chuckled. 

"How far away are you?" Eddie asked, switching hands to vice the phone between his head and shoulder, taking a momentary glance at the clock to see it was almost 11. _A diner might be open or something._

"About 15 minutes. You gonna pretty yourself up for me, doll?" He drawled, and Eddie rolled his eyes, forgetting that Richie couldn't actually see him, and kept the phone clamped in his cheek as he reached and opened Bill's closet to rummage around for his shoes. 

"Fuck off, or I might decide to leave you out there for a bit." He threatened, smiling victoriously to himself as he plucked out his left shoe. 

"Oo ya gonna punish me, Eds? Have I been a _naughty boy?_ " Richie said, too intentionally obnoxious, as he pressed his mouth right against the mouthpiece, to make Eddie flustered. He only winced as the sound crackled and pounded in his ear. 

"Right, I'm gonna hang up now," Eddie replied hotly, a little strained as tried to wiggle his shoe out from the heavy pile of identical sneakers Bill had. Richie chuckled. 

"Alright, I'll see you on the flip side, Eddie." His voice was sweet, the tone still holding his air of teasing, but it was genuine, and even held a lilt of excitement enough to make butterflies erupt in Eddie's stomach as he properly realised he was going on a _real date_ with a _really hot guy_. 

He couldn't keep the painfully wide and bright grin off his face, "Yeah, okay, see you on the flip side, Richie."  

_CLICK_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always lemme know what you think! X


	4. The Small Anxiety Attack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie announces his date, and promptly has an anxiety attack, luckily his friends are there for him, physically and emotionally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, but motivation has been hard to come by recently #relatable. The next chap is when the date really starts going! ;}

Eddie's fingers lingered on the smooth black casing of the phone, the nervous rapid pulsing of his heart evident in the tips of his fingers. He spread his tunnelled vision for a moment to realise where he was: sitting on the floor of his best friend's room and holding his off-white converse as he gets ready for a date with a hot boy he hardly knew. _Maybe I should think about this a bit more._

Hooking his fingers in the heels of his shoes in one hand, he exited the bedroom and the distant sound of a movie playing and his friends' voice soothed his anxiety for a moment as he leant back against the door. Slowly, he made his way down the stairs, the fluttering of Beverly and Bill's giggling becoming louder as he neared the room and he paused to stand timidly in the doorway, the TV playing Die Hard illuminating his anxious face. 

 

Ben spotted him first; he had just casually looked up from his unmoved place leant against Mike's shoulder, Mike's warm fingers rubbing circles into his knee as his eyes stayed glued to the TV. Ben watched Eddie stare at the floor, and then seem to draw himself up and open his mouth as if to talk, but no sound came out and his chest deflated in hesitation. 

 

"Eddie?" Ben half-whispered, but even that was enough to grab Mike's attention and he looked over, his brow furrowing at Eddie's parted mouth and wide eyes. Mike made to get up, evidently forgetting that he had two people laid on him and was mostly pinned down by Beverly draped across his lap. Beverly huffed as she was jostled forwards, her chin bumping Stan's knee in the chair perpendicular to hers. Stan flinched and glared at her, the domino effect continuing as the sharp squirm shook Bill as his back was pressed against Stan's stomach. Bill looked up at Stan to ask what was wrong but caught the image of a half-nervous and half-ecstatic Eddie in the flickering of the TV light.

 

"Eddie, what happened?" Bill called, and the four others' attention was fully caught, all turning to face Eddie. 

 

"Uh," Eddie started but was cut off by Beverly flinging herself off of Mike's lap to in front of him. 

 

"DID YOU CALL HIM?!" Eddie recoiled, a smile still spreading across his face as he nodded meekly. Beverly grinned and grabbed his shoulders, shaking him a little, "WHAT DID HE SAY?" 

 

"We're gonna go on a... date." Eddie winced once more as Beverly shrieked in joy, pulling him into a hug. 

 

"Oh, I'm so proud of you Eddie!" She gushed, nuzzling her nose into the side of his face to kiss his cheek. He laughed, hugging her back as she continued to plant kisses across his face, "When is it?" 

 

"In about... 10 minutes?"

 

Eddie's stomach dropped as he realised he hadn't entirely emotionally prepared for when Richie got here. His breathing started to pick up, his inhales becoming choked and his exhales blowing out too quickly. Beverly noticed immediately and pulled back, allowing Eddie space to breath. Eddie subconsciously heard Stan clamber his way over and appeared behind Eddie placing his hands on his shoulders, flattening them to rub his palms up and down his back. 

 

"It's okay, Eddie," Stan spoke soothingly, as Eddie squeezed his eyes shut to focus on steadying his breaths, "Everything's okay, Richie seems like a nice guy, you're just going on _one_ date with him. After, you can decide if you want to again, and all our phones will be on in case something happens. Mike and I will come pick you up straight away." 

 

Eddie nodded, thankful for his logical and steady minded best friend, and leant back into him a little, Stan's arms wrapping around his torso to hug him briefly. Beverly's warm hands held his, her navy nails a dark smudge as she rubbed the back of his hands. 

 

"Thanks, guys," Eddie mumbled, and both Stan and Beverly placed a kiss on either one of Eddie's cheeks before letting him go. He looked back up to see Mike, Ben and Bill all perched on the edge of their seat watching him with concerned eyes.

 

He caught Bill's blue gaze and stuck out his bottom lip, his voice coming out as a comical whine, the tension of the living room disappearing as he did so, Bev's fingertips the last lingering reminder of his previous anxiety, " _Billy?_ " 

 

"Yes, Georgie?" Bill threw back, crossing his arms with an amused smile. Eddie played off of him, adopting the younger Denbrough's body position as he held his hands behind his back, sticking his chest out and twisting his toes against the floor. Bill stifled a laugh behind his hand. 

 

"Can I please borrow your denim jacket?" He asked and Bill rolled his eyes. 

 

"No." He bit back, the grin on his lips as he leant back into Stan's chest as the curly-haired boy shimmied in behind him. 

 

"Well looks like I'll just have another anxiety attack then- HUH." Eddie seceded, breathing in deeply and holding it as if that would somehow trigger one. 

 

"Alright! Fine! It's in the main hall." Bill dramatically gave in, flinging backwards onto Stan's shoulder. 

 

"Thank you!" He called as he left the room to search for the jacket. 

 

Eddie walked to the main entrance hall, hopping around as he pulled his shoes on, tying them quickly but tightly, images of tripping and busting his chin and lip in front of his hot date coaxing him to tie them twice. He made it to the hook against the wall by the Denbrough's front door and was shuffling through the pile of jackets and coats hung there when a large warm hand laid on his shoulder. Eddie looked over his shoulder to see Mike smiling kindly down at him, holding the jacket in his other hand. Eddie took it from him, smiling thankfully, and shucked it on. 

 

"I just wanted to reiterate what Stan said," Mike said, scratching the back of his neck as Eddie slipped his arm into the sleeves. Eddie looked up at him questioningly, "You know what the emergency word is right?" 

 

"Gazebos, yeah?" Eddie confirmed and Mike nodded, seemingly still unsatisfied as he licked his lips, looking to the front door. Eddie's eyebrows furrowed and he linked his fingers with Mike's, smiling lightly up at him, "Hey, you're the one who persuaded me to call him."

 

"I know," Mike said, squeezing Eddie's hand before dropping it. His eyes turned to him and he smiled, it not quite reaching his eyes, "Just have fun, yeah?" 

 

Eddie's brow deepened, "Mikey, what's-" 

 

The shrill of the doorbell cut him off, the two of them jumping to look towards the door. Through the blurred glass, a silhouette of a tall skinny figure with fluffy hair they were running their hand through stood waiting, their shadow fading to a lighter grey as they stepped back on the steps to prepare for the door opening. 

 

"That's for me." Mike watched with somewhat relief as Eddie's smile brightened at the figure. He smiled back, letting out a shaky exhale as he watched Eddie make his way to the door. 

 

"Gazebos, Eddie." Mike reminded, "Stan and I will be there as fast as we can." 

 

Eddie nodded back at him, beaming, his cheeks already blushing as he opened the door. 

 

 

"Oh, Eds, you're here? Damn. See I was looking for the cutest boy in Derry as I am owed a sweet kiss. Have you seen him?" 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you guys think! Hope you enjoy!


End file.
